Garment



Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARMENT Application June 6, 1938, Serial No. 212,175

5 Claims.

The invention relates to garments, and particularly to garments intended to be used as bathing suits.

This application is a continuation-in-part of 5 my application Serial No. 122,136, filed January The present invention is particularly applicable to bathing suits made of a one-way stretch elastic woven fabric. This is a woven material 10 having rubber threads, which is adapted to stretch in one direction to fit the body. When such an elastic fabric is wet, it may become at least partially translucent, and therefore to some extent immodest. An object of the present invention is to. provide a simple construction which will prevent immodesty in a bathing suit of this type, which is inexpensive and economical, and which is nevertheless comfortable for the wearer.

More particularly, an object of the invention 2 is to provide a construction having a lining or shading panel which reduces the translucency of the body of the material, which panel is so arranged that it is not likely to wrinkle or crease when in use, thereby causing discomfort to the 25 wearer and making the suit appear to be improperly fitted. This is particularly accomplished by the provision in the front of the body of the suit only of a narrow panel of material, which is yieldable or stretchable.

30 Still another object of the invention is to provide a knitted lining panel which is so dimensioned that upon the transverse stretching of the body material of the garment the km'tted panel does not contract vertically so as to cause a distortion of the shape of the garment or of the lining.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bathing suit which is lined only in the bust portions and through the center of the front of 40 the garment, so that the garment will dry more quickly and Will be lighter in weight.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description, particularly when taken in conjunction 45 with the accompanying drawing, which forms a part thereof.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows in front elevation a bathing suit embodying my invention;

50 Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3; V

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 4-4 of 55 Fig. 2.

As shown in the drawing, the bathing suit or other garment includes a body portion I0. This body portion is formed of an elastic woven fabric adapted to stretch around the body of the wearer, but not stretchable vertically. The invention also contemplates the provision of a crotch piece Illa, of the type described in the application above referred to, this crotch piece being secured to the front of the body portion along a line 28. The garment at its top has two bust portions II, to which are secured straps I3" which extend over the shoulders and may be secured to a ring l5 at the back of the garment after passing through loops 14.

The bust portions II are lined preferably with a knitted material I3, which serves to render them less translucent when wet. This material is secured to the bust portions all around their edges, and is shaped in the same manner as the bust portions.

Between the bust portions the body has an upwardly extending tongue 20. Secured to the inner edges of the bust portions and covering the back of this tongue is a section ll of inelastic material adapted to prevent relative separation of the bust supports.

The primary feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a panel l8 which is secured at its upper edge at ll to the lower edge of the inextensible member 11, at its lower edge 3 to the seam 28 and the lower edge of the garment, and along its side edges to the body of the garment by seams 29. The material runs only down the central portion of the front of the body of the garment leaving the sides of the front portion uncovered.

The material of the panel l8 may be of different kinds. In one form of the invention, it is formed of a knitted material which is of course stretchable in both directions. Such a material, however, upon being stretched in one direction tends to contract in the other direction. The knitted material is therefore made of somewhat larger normal dimensions than the unstretched area of the portion of the garment which it covers in its unstretched condition. The difference in size is sufficient so that when the garment is stretched to fit the body of the wearer the knitted material will not be sufliciently stretched to cause any substantial contraction vertically of the garment. In a vertical direction the knitted material has substantially the same dimension as the portion of the garment which it covers, and its increased size is only in a horizontal direction.

If it is desired, however, to utilize other material, it is possible to use any stretchable lining material, such as the same woven elastic fabric of which the garment itself is formed. In any event, the panel extends down and covers those parts of the body which cannot decently be exposed When the suit is worn. On the other hand, its dimensions are relatively small so that it does not substantially increase the weight of the garment or cause it to dry less quickly.

While I have described herein one embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not intend to be limited thereby except within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bathing suit of material which tends to become translucent when wet and which is elastic around the body having body, crotch and bust portions, and a lining of material stretchable in the same direction as said first material extending from the bottom of the bust portion down the front of the bathing suit, and a shading panel of material stretchable in the same direction as said first material connected at its upper edge to said garment adjacent said bust portions, at its lower edge to the crotch, and along its side edges 5, to the body of the bathing suit, said shading panel underlying only the central part of the front of the body portion of the bathing suit.

3. In a bathing suit composed of a material which tends to become translucent when wet and which is adapted to stretch around the body of the wearer, a pair of bust portions at the top of the bathing suit, an insert between said bust portions of non-stretchable material secured to the bust portions, a crotch portion secured to the front of the bathing suit, and a shading panel of material stretchable in the same direction as said first material connected at its upper edge to said non-stretchable portion, at its lower edge to the crotch, and along its side edges to the body of the bathing suit, said shading panel underlying only the central part of the front of the body portion of the bathing suit.

4. In a bathing suit composed of a material which tends to become translucent when wet and which is adapted to stretch around the body of the wearer, a pair of bust portions at the top of the bathing suit, a substantially triangular insert between said bust portions of non-stretchable material secured to the bust portions, a crotch portion secured to the front of the bathing suit, and a shading panel of material stretchable in the same direction as said first material connected at its upper edge to said non-stretchable portion, at its lower edge to the crotch, and along its side edges to the body of the bathing suit, the normal horizontal dimensions of the shading panel being slightly greater than the normal width of that portion of the body which it underlies, said shading panel underlying only the central part of the front of the body portion of the bathing suit.

5. A bathing suit of woven material which tends to become translucent when wet and which is elastic around the body having body, crotch and bust portions, and a lining of knitted material stretchable in the same direction as said woven material extending from the bottom of the bust portions down the central part only of the front of said waist and trunk portions to the crotch and secured at its side edges to the material of the bathing suit.

JACOB COHEN. 

